From: Stephen A. Quaye, Toronto-Canada.

Some say Wadadaa me, others say waye me Azaa, or waye me Puyaka. A friend of my will say oh that guy has made me Philomena, 419 whiles the greater majority of the people will understand it better if you say Sakawa.
But no matter what name one will give it the act of deceit or trick some one to gain favors in several ways has been in existence and will continue to be in existence only that one should be smart to detect and stay out of the net.
Why am I saying this? The simple explanation is that the act of stealing or better still deceiving or tricking one to get favors is becoming so sophisticated that suspected dupe persons or fraudsters keep changing their tactics every minute their styles are exposed.
Not quite long ago the act of duping got a new name for it describing it as Sakawa without anybody knowing where the name migrated from. People sat behind their computers and cheated innocent victims of hard cash.
As their tricks got exposed making people stay alert from falling victim to these suspected criminals, they changed their style from making people Puyaka via the internet to picking the phone and telling difficult to believe lies to their friends and love ones living in the diaspora to win favors.
They just don’t tell lies but with much seriousness makes one to believe that what they are saying is true and get carried away with it and as they succeed, build more on their lies roping in the name of higher personalities in Ghana such as ministers, chiefs, security commanders DCEs and even the president.
A section of the public have been blaming this on poor living conditions which has forced most of these guys to employ such tactics to find daily bread though not acceptable.
Let me give you two scenarios for your study.
A young boy living in Kumasi managed to dupe his uncle living in America for several hundreds of dollars by asking him to send the money down for it to be invested in buy and sell ”kotobeton” business.
Having received the dollars and was not getting any report from his nephew, he called to find out how the trading business was going only for him to be told “oh uncle upon receiving the money I changed my mind to invest in another business which is more lucrative than mere trading”.
The uncle did not say anything but waited for several months only to verify once more to be told again” uncle after I have gotten the kiosk stationed at a very vantage point, President Atta Mills came out with an order that Accra is dirty so all kiosk should be removed to make the national capital neat from therefore that business could not kick off”.
Here the uncle realized that he has been duped by his nephew when he asked about the capital where he was told “oh na saa sika no die se ashi oo”, to wit that money has been longed spent therefore needing another money.
Another person living in Canada told his story whereby his daughter called him to demand for seven million old Ghana Cedis to enable her pay for her daughter’s hospital bills. The woman claim her daughter which is a grand daughter of the man living in Canada was in serious Coma and was under life supporting system at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital at Accra.
He said, the daughter claim president Atta Mills has made the NHIS impossible to pay the bills as the doctor in charge of the little girl in coma said it will cost her seven million old Ghana cedis to bring the patient back to life. Being so smart to detect that he was being tricked, this grandfather plainly pointed out to his daughter he was not financially sound to foot the bill.
Not knowing, the grandfather called a third person in Ghana to go and verify for him before assisting financially lo and behold, the said dying little girl was seriously playing with her mates. The mother said oh we were just discharged from the hospital.
There are more scenarios to give when it comes to people in Ghana picking the phone to make deceiving statements in other to dupe their relatives living in the diaspora in the name of the president.
Now some are saying” Abrabo no mu aye denden paa woha oo” to wit the economic hardship being experienced here is unbearable and going to the point where no matter what one will feel pity for them and send down money.
Is time the young ones are made aware that there is no shot cut to making oneself rich over night and that it takes humility, patience, the fear of God, quality education and hard work to become resourceful.
Making people Azaa, Philomena, 419, Puyaka or Sakawa to make money is not worth it or there is no blessing. Those who are also telling difficult to believe lies in the name of the president to dupe people outside should also stop since they are bringing the name of the first gentleman into disrepute.
End.3/9/2011